MSNBC TOPS CNN IN PRIMETIME TOTAL VIEWERS FOR MARCH 2015
“Morning Joe” Beats “New Day” in Total Viewers in March
MSNBC Primetime Up in A25-54 for the Month

NEW YORK – March 31, 2015 – Many of MSNBC’s core programs saw ratings increases in March 2015, with MSNBC’s M-F Primetime beating CNN in total viewers for the month, and “Morning Joe” beating CNN’s “New Day” in total viewers. “Hardball”, “All In with Chris Hayes”, “The Rachel Maddow Show” and “The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell” all came in second in total viewers for the month and MSNBC’s primetime (8-11pm et) was up in the A25-54 for the month.

All prime shows including “Hardball” ranked #2 among total viewers for the month: “Hardball” 698,000 (vs. CNN 536,000), “All In with Chris Hayes” 597,000 (CNN 537, 000), “The Rachel Maddow Show” 795,000 (CNN 459,000) and “The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell” 578,000 (CNN 446,000). This marks the 22nd month for “Hardball” and “The Rachel Maddow Show” at #2. MSNBC’s prime was also up in A25-54 by 4 percent. This is the first time since July 2014 that “Morning Joe”, “Hardball”, “All In”, “The Rachel Maddow Show” and “The Last Word” beat CNN in total viewers in the same month.Continue reading →

In a must reaad, the AP’s David Bauder (I presume it’s Bauder…as usual this went out uncredited) writes about MSNBC and its challenges. I want to quote the whole damn thing but that would be wrong. Instead I’ll highlight the part everyone will be talking about most…Keith Olbermann’s opinion on the situation…

To many fans, MSNBC’s weakness isn’t that it’s liberal. It’s that the network is boring.

“The solution is not that ‘we need more news’ or that ‘we need to alter the political viewpoint,’ but what does the content of the shows look like,” said Keith Olbermann, former MSNBC prime-time host. “Do not be afraid to make good television. And in Rachel, Phil Griffin, and Andy Lack, they’ve got three people in place who’ve already done that there.”

Olbermann single-handedly lurched MSNBC to the left during President George W. Bush’s second term when his angry commentary attracted a loyal audience. He had the passion, Maddow the quietly analytical mind and together they formed a potent one-two punch.

After Olbermann left, MSNBC set about modeling its lineup after Maddow, its Rhodes scholar and highest-rated personality.

Liberal in outlook, MSNBC’s programming approach is often conservative. Watching MSNBC can feel like a hidden camera picking up a discussion in the faculty lounge. Fox viewers often feel like they’ve stumbled upon a street brawl.

MSNBC insiders expect the pro­gramming revamp that began with the axing of daytime shows hosted by Ronan Farrow and Joy Reid to continue. There is widespread speculation that Al Sharpton’s show could be moved to a weekend slot as the network led by Phil Griffin hews toward news programming during daytime. The fate of 8 p.m. host Chris Hayes, a pro­tege of Rachel Maddow, is unclear. “Contrary to rumors that already have been reported, there are no plans to move Rev. Sharpton’s or Chris Hayes’ shows,” says an MSNBC spokesperson.

MSNBC has been on a ratings slide for months; in February, it was down 48 percent in primetime in the 25-to-54 demo and 43 percent in total day compared with the same month last year, when MSNBC hosts, notably Maddow, were hammering New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie over the so-called Bridgegate scandal.

Lack, who in his previous stint at NBC presided over the partnership with Microsoft that created MSNBC, is expected to more closely integrate NBC News and MSNBC, a reversal of the strategy advocated by NBC News president Deborah Turness that drew a stark line between the units.

During a Now w/ Alex Wagner conversation about GOP presidential candidate Ted Cruz‘s statement that he became a country music fan directly after 9/11, guest Jamilah Lemieux opened up the conversation with this remark: “Nothing says ‘Let’s go kill some Muslims’ like country music, fresh from Lynchburg, Virginia. Someone who obviously does not want to be a polarizing candidate, he wants to bring people together, I mean — really? That’s absurd.”

While co-panelists Joan Walsh and Michael Steele could be heard laughing at Lemieux’s remark, guest-host Melber responded: “Well, I mean there’s plenty of country music that doesn’t have that message, right?”

A few segments later, Melber appeared on-air with an apology: “We have a programming note. A few minutes ago on this show, a guest made a comment about country music. That comment was not appropriate, and we want to be clear this network does not condone it.”

Network Reinforces Commitment to Presenting Live News from the U.S. and Around the Globe with Increased Hours of Coverage Weekdays

NEW YORK, NY, March 25, 2015 – Today, Al Jazeera America announced that the channel will present more hours of live news programming, from more locations with more resources, beginning this coming Monday, March 30th.

Each weekday starting at 6am ET until 12 noon ET, Al Jazeera America will present a live morning news block hosted by a rotating roster of the channel’s anchors and reporters. The updated morning news brings viewers an additional two hours of content from Al Jazeera America’s headquarters in New York City, and will be interwoven with live news broadcasts from Al Jazeera studios in Doha and London, the network’s 82 bureau locations and field reporters around the world. The new format continues the in-depth coverage and fact-based information that Al Jazeera America is known for, while offering even more continuous, real-time news coverage.Continue reading →

Joy Reid Hosts One-Hour Special Live from the #YesWeCode Hackathon at the Ford STEAM Lab

NEW YORK – March 24, 2015 – MSNBC will present “Growing Hope Live from Detroit,” on Friday, March 27th at 2 p.m. ET. The one-hour special, sponsored by Ford Motor Company, will be hosted by MSNBC National Correspondent Joy Reid live from the #YesWeCode Hackathon at the Ford STEAM Lab in Detroit, Michigan.

Featured guests include U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Stephen Henderson, Detroit Free Press Editorial Page Editor and co-host of “Detroit Today,” and Van Jones, founder of #YesWeCode. Reid will also look at Sisters Code, a Detroit organization that teaches women of all ages how to code and succeed in science, technology, engineering and math industries.

Additionally, Reid will speak with Hackathon participants and serve as one of the competition’s judges. #YesWeCode’s Detroit Hackathon will provide 100 Detroit middle school students training and computer programming skills to pave the way for high-tech education and careers. Students will present a final project and the concepts they learned to a panel of judges.

“I witnessed firsthand at last year’s My Brother’s Keeper Hackathon that teaching our youth the value of coding enables creativity,” said Reid. “I’m thrilled to be a guest judge to support the students of this city and the #YesWeCode program, which is essential to fostering diversity in the tech industry.”

Launched last year, Ford STEAM Lab is an educational program from the Ford Motor Company Fund designed to spark student passion for technology entrepreneurship and careers in STEM fields.